Now I'd like for you to open
your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15. Now this chapter is quite familiar
to a lot of people because mainly of the last parable in this called
the parable of the prodigal son. But I want you to understand
as we go through this that, of course, some argue how you should
put this, but there's no argument here. This is made up of one
parable in three parts. Or as somebody said, three parables
that go together. It doesn't matter how you look
at it, but it goes together. And showing that you cannot understand
the last parable, the parable of the prodigal son, without
by itself, but without understanding and reading the first two. We're
going to look at that. The title of the message this
morning is The Shepherd and the Lost Sheep. The Shepherd and
the Lost Sheep. But before we get there, look
at the very last verse of Luke chapter 14, right up from Luke
15. Luke 14, 35. That section of scripture ends
with the Lord saying this. He's talking about the salt in
verse 34. Salt is good. Salt was a preservative
back then. It wasn't just something to flavor
food, but it was a preservative. And he's talking about the preaching
of the truth. And what he's simply saying is
that if we know the truth and we don't preach the truth, it's
like the salt that's lost its savor. Whatever God reveals to
us, we're to preach because it is for His glory and the good
of His people. And I as a preacher, as a minister,
I don't have the authority to say, well, now I'm going to preach
this part of God's Word and leave out this part because it's offensive
to man. And I've heard preachers say,
well, I believe this, but I won't preach it. I mean, I was taught
in in Bible school that there's certain things you just don't
tell people because they just won't take it. Well, that's too
bad. I don't have that kind of authority. This is God's word,
not man's word. So we come to it, we preach it,
whether men love it or hate it or understand it or don't understand
it. That's not the issue. This is
God's word. So he says if the salt loses its savor, verse 35,
it's neither fit for the land nor yet for the dunghill. If
you water it down or leave it out or manipulate it or verbalize
it in such a way to make it pleasant to the ears of the natural man,
it's no good at all. But here's what he says, the
last line in verse 35, he says, he that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. Now that saying is quite often
in scripture, especially in connection with the parables. He that hath
ears to hear, let him hear. And that's it. I mean, you preach
the truth. That's what he's telling his
ministers. Just like in that Ezekiel 34 passage, when he starts
out, he said, I'm against the shepherds. In other words, there
were men who were set in authority over Israel to guide them spiritually,
but they had simply, they were like the salt that lost its savor. They wouldn't tell the truth.
They manipulated it. They watered it down. And he
said, I'm against those shepherds. And he said, I'm going to send
them true shepherds who will tell the truth. And here's the
issue. Now, whether the truth is offensive
to you or whether it's not, here's the bottom line. He that hath
ears to hear, let him hear. You may not have ears to hear.
You see, those ears to hear are a gift from God. I want to show
you that. Well, look at verse 1 of chapter 15. He says, then
drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
They drew near to hear him. Now the indication here is that
these people who drew near to him had ears to hear. We don't know that for certain
about every one of them. It doesn't really elaborate on
it. But they came to hear him. To
hear what he had to say. They were anxious. And who were
they? Well, look at them. They were publicans and sinners.
Now, a lot of times when you see that word sinner, what he's
talking about there is a classification of people that were mainly identified
by the religionists of that day as being the worst of society. Because we're all sinners. From
the greatest to the least, we're all sinners. But this was a classification,
and the point being made here is that this bunch here that's
coming near to hear him, they're the worst of the lot. Everybody
looks down on them, even the lost religionists. And the publicans,
you know who they were. They were the chiefs. They were
the tax collectors, the tax gatherers. They worked for the Roman government
collecting taxes from their own people, and they always skimmed
off the top, so they were hated among people. So this is the
kind of folks that drew near to hearing. And so, and these
were the kind of folks, they didn't have much to be proud
of. They didn't have much in the way in that sense. And look
at verse 2, it says, and the Pharisees, now you know who they
were, they were the opposite in society of the publicans and
the sinners. They were the highest, religionist,
the most well-respected, the moral. Christ said they appeared
righteous unto men. And it says the Pharisees and
the scribes, that was the lawyers at that time, they wrote and
interpreted and commented on the law of Moses. And it says
they murmured. They grumble, that's what that
is. We do a lot of that, don't we? Grumbling. And it says, saying,
this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. So here's the
publicans and the sinners coming to hear him. Here's the Pharisees
and the scribes grumbling and complaining and bringing an accusation. This man receiveth sinners. And
he eats with them. Now they eat him with them. Back
then, when you ate with somebody, that showed a closeness and a
fellowship. It's like, you can remember back
in the Old Testament when God told Moses to come up to the
mountain, Mount Sinai, and he said, you come alone. But later
on, he says, you bring the high priest, you bring the elders,
and we'll sit down, and you all sit down and have a meal. That
was indicative of fellowship with God through the sacrifice. And so you come and eat, and
that was fellowship. So he said, you eat with them. Now see, it
was forbidden for a Jew to eat with Gentiles. Remember when
Peter had that problem, even after he was saved down in Antioch,
when he was eating with the Gentiles, and certain ones came from the
church at Jerusalem, and he got up and switched tables because
he didn't want to be seen eating with Gentiles. He still had those
leftover grave clothes of the Jewish prejudices. that should
have been gone, and remember what Paul said, I would have
stood him to the face, publicly, because he caused others to dissimilate,
the scripture says, to part with him. They got caught up in that.
So that's the situation. He said, he that hath ears to
hear, let him hear. Well, here comes these publicans
and these sinners to hear him. Then here comes these Pharisees
and scribes to complain and accuse. This man receiveth sinners. Well, first of all, what this
shows us by illustration is what the Lord had already taught.
Look back at Matthew chapter 13. He taught his disciples this
lesson, and that's this. Spiritual hearing. You know the
difference now. It's like a person. You can hear
what I'm saying to you. But what you don't have by nature
now. What you don't have as you're
born into this world in Adam, fallen and ruined, is the spiritual
ability to believe it and to love it. That's what's missing. You know, I often say it this
way, in Acts chapter 7, those who heard Stephen preach, they
heard exactly what he was saying, but how did they react to it?
They picked up stones to kill him. What was wrong? Didn't they
hear it? Yeah, they heard it, but not
with spiritual ears. You see the difference? The spiritual
ear receives what the Lord feeds upon what the Lord teaches. Believes
it. Loves it. Lives by it. That's
the spiritual hearing that we're talking about. That's what he
meant when he said, let he who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Remember, he said that in Revelation to the seven churches each time
he gave them the exhortation. Let he who has ears to hear,
let him hear. And so what about this? Well,
spiritual hearing is evidence of spiritual life. And they're
both a gift from God, by the Holy Spirit, through the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's why Christ said you must
be born again. That's when you're born again,
that's when you're given spiritual ears to hear. And so look here
in Matthew chapter 13, look at verse 14. Matthew 13 verse 14. Remember, this is when he began
to speak in parables, Matthew 13. And the disciples asked him,
why do you speak in parables? And he said, he said, I said,
verse 14, but look up at verse 10, he said, and the disciples
came and said unto him, why speakest thou unto them in parables? And
he answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
it is not given. It's not given to them, but it's
given to you. Now, why was it given to the
disciples and not to them? Were the disciples better? Is
that why the Lord gives this spiritual hearing? Because the
disciples were better men? Did God look down through the
telescope of time and foresee that the disciples would believe
and these others didn't? Is that what it is? Well, absolutely
not. The disciples were sinners saved
by the grace of God. That's it. But go on, he says
in verse 12, for whosoever hath to him shall be given, and he
shall have more abundance, but whosoever hath not from him shall
be taken away, even that he hath. You know, they were hearing what
he said, but they didn't believe it, and it was going to be taken
away. Therefore, verse 13, speak I to them in parables, because
they see They seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, neither
do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the
prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing you shall hear, and
shall not understand, and seeing you shall see, and shall not
perceive. For this people's heart is waxed
gross." That means their heart is grown hard. They hardened
their heart. And their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes
they have closed, lest at any time they should see with their
eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But,
look at verse 16, now what's the difference between the disciples
and those others? He says here, But blessed are
your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For
verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have
desired to see those things which you see. and have not seen them,
and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard
them." Then he says, now hear the parable of the sower. So
they had spiritual ears. Now the self-righteous back here
in Luke 15, they grumbled and they complained. They were not
hearing what the Lord was teaching about salvation, about grace,
about mercy. And notice the statement that
they made. Notice their complaint. Notice their accusation there
in verse 2. This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
What a statement. In their criticism, they unknowingly
spoke the truth. Yes, this man receives sinners
and eats with them. Aren't you glad? I sure am. This is a faithful saying worthy
of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save who? sinners of whom I am chief," Paul wrote. Let me ask you to think about
this. If the thought of standing before a holy God, a righteous,
just judge, who knows your every thought, your every motive, your
every action, if the thought of standing before him frightens
you, let me tell you something, it should. But don't run away. Don't flee. Here's what you do. Seek Christ, because this man
receives sinners and eats with them. Seek after him. Seek mercy in him. Seek faith. Seek repentance. That's what
he's saying. And in doing so, you must hear
him, not yourself. Don't listen to yourself. You
know why? Because your heart will deceive
you. The heart's deceitful. Desperately wicked. Who can know?
You can't even know your own heart. Don't listen to yourself.
Listen to Him and His Word. What does He say? This man receiveth
whom? Sinners. And eats with them. Not only does He receive them,
but He has fellowship with them. He communes with them. He feeds
them. He saves sinners. Don't listen
to yourself. And don't listen to others. They'll
either tell you this, one of two things. This is what others
will say to you. They'll either tell you that
you're not worthy, and you're not worthy to come
to Him, or they'll tell you that you're worthy on some false ground. That's what they'll tell you.
I'll give you an example. Let's suppose that you were living
in the days of Cain and Abel. And you had a desire to be saved. And you went and said, Cain,
tell me what to do. What do you think Cain would
tell you? He'd say, well, you better get working hard, buddy.
You better bring the best that you can offer to God. Christ
won't receive such people. He didn't receive Cain. The best
that we can offer is altogether nothing. Vanity. Dung, Paul called
it in Philippians chapter 3. But suppose you went to Abel.
He said, I need salvation. I'm a sinner. Abel said, come
with me. I'll point you to the Lamb. I'll
point you to the blood of the crucified one. I'll point you
to a righteousness that you don't have, but He has it all. I'll
point you to Christ. This man received sinners. What
if you went to the Pharisees and the scribes? What would they
say to you? They'd say, well, you've got to be circumcised.
And you've got to convert and become a Jew. And then you've
got to keep the law of Moses. God won't receive such people. I'll tell you, it's not your
sins that keep you away from Christ. It's self-righteousness.
Self-righteousness. Listen to Christ and listen to
His word of truth. This man receiveth sinners and
eats with them. Now, somebody might ask this
question. They might say, well, what if I'm spiritually dead
and cannot hear? What if I don't have those spiritual
ears? Shouldn't I wait for the Holy Spirit to give me spiritual
ears and eyes? And the answer is no. The Bible
never tells lost sinners to wait for anything. It tells saved sinners to wait
on the Lord. That's faith. But it never tells
a lost sinner to wait for anything. It says this, now is the accepted
time. Now is the day of salvation.
You come to Christ. That's your command. Christ said,
all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Christ receives all
who come to him his way, by him, as sinners. And let me tell you
something, he eats with everyone whom he receives. He communes
and fellowships. Now, when they made this accusation,
this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. Christ gives
them an answer. And he answers them by telling
them the following three stories. Right here in Luke 15. And this,
as I said, this is really one parable with three parts. But
the key is, they all three go together. They go together and
they describe how Christ finds that which was and is lost and
then found. Lost and found. Each parable
has that. Each story. He starts out with
the lost sheep. The shepherd seeking a lost sheep. And what that story describes
and illustrates is the work of God the Son who is the Good Shepherd,
the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd in our salvation. That's what that first one, the
story of the shepherd and the lost sheep. And the leading character
in that story is not the sheep. The leading character in that
story is the shepherd. The shepherd. And then the second
story, which I'll get to next week now, that's the parable
or the story of the lost coin. There's a woman, she had a house,
and she sweeps, she loses one coin. She has ten coins, and
she loses one, and she turns the light on and sweeps the house
until she finds that lost coin. Now that story is illustrating
the work of the Holy Spirit in our salvation. And the leading
character in that story is not the coin. It's the woman. It's the Holy Spirit. And we'll
talk more about that next week. And then there's the third one.
And that's the parable or the story of what we call the prodigal
son. I choose to call it the parable
of the forgiving father. Because what that story is illustrating
is the mercy and the compassion and the love of the father in
our salvation. And the leading character in
that story is not the prodigal son. It's the forgiving father.
I want you to see that. And you cannot understand one
of these illustrations without the other. Now, a lot of people,
you know, they go to one and they make, you know, to them
the parable of the prodigal son is just a story of moral reformation. Well, let me tell you something,
it's a lot more than that. It's a lot more than that. But
the order here now starts off with the shepherd and the lost
sheep, and then the woman and the lost coin, and then the father
receiving the prodigal son. The order here is not time order.
For example, the lost sheep describes the work of the Son in our redemption.
That's the cross. What did He have to do to get
His lost sheep? He had to come and die on the
cross of Calvary for our sins. And the lost coin is the work
of the Holy Spirit in the new birth. Now, the cross did not
happen first in time. For example, the work of the
Holy Spirit was already being done on earth. Abel was born
again in time before the cross. But this is an order of preeminence.
And what it shows is that Christ's work on the cross is the foundation
and the ground and the cause of our salvation. And the work
of the Spirit and acceptance with the Father is the fruit
of what Christ accomplished on the cross in time. You see, the
Holy Spirit came to Abel and gave him life and gave him ears
to hear. You know why? Because in time,
later on, a work was going to be done on Calvary. That's right. Life comes from the Son. And
those who Christ saves are lost until He finds them. Now let's
look at this lost sheep, just a few verses here at the beginning.
Let's read the parable, or the story here. It says in verse
3, And He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of
you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after
that which is lost, until he find it. And when he hath found
it, he laith it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh
home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying
unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was
lost. I say unto you that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than
over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance." Now
that's the first one. That's the shepherd and the lost
sheep. Look back at Matthew chapter
18. This analogy, or this metaphor, this illustration, is not new
to the scripture. The Lord had dealt with it before.
And he mentions it often, the shepherd and the lost sheep. Back here in Matthew chapter
18, look at verse 10. This is when the disciples were
arguing over who was going to be the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven. That's us by nature, you see. And he told them, he
said, except you be converted and become as a little child,
you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven. And he said
in verse 10, Take heed that you despise not one of these little
ones. For I say unto you that in heaven
their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is
in heaven. For the Son of Man is come to save that which was
lost. And he said, How do you think?
If a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray,
doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the
mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be
that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of
that sheep than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
Even so, it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven
that one of these little ones should perish." Not one, listen
to me, not one of his lost sheep will perish. Because he's going
to seek them and he's going to find them. Not one of them. Now,
go back to Luke 15. Let me just give you a a related
passage in the Old Testament. It's Isaiah 53, verse 6. You
can mark it down. And in describing the kind of
folks that Christ saves, the prophet Isaiah, inspired by the
Holy Spirit, made this statement in Isaiah 53, verse 6. It's a
two-fold statement. He says, All we, like sheep,
have gone astray. We have turned every one to his
own way. Now that's what it is to be lost.
All we like sheep, like a dumb sheep. Now a lost sheep out on
the desert of Canaan was a doomed sheep. I mean, they were a dead
sheep. But all we like sheep have gone
astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. What way is that? It's the way
of works. It's the way of Cain. It's the way of false religion.
It's the way of conditional salvation. It's the way of free willism.
It's any way but the way of God's grace in Christ. And until He gives us ears to
hear and eyes to see, we won't hear to see it. So that's what
it is to be lost. Then Isaiah 53, 6 goes on to
say this, it says, And the Lord hath laid on Him, on Christ,
the coming Messiah, the iniquity of us all. Now what does that
tell you? Here's the next part. The salvation
of all the lost sheep are the responsibility of the shepherd. All the salvation of the lost
sheep is the responsibility of the shepherd. The Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all. The Lord didn't try to beg him
and plead for him and all that to try to get him to respond
of their own will. He just simply laid on him, and
you know what that is, substitution, that's imputation, that's satisfaction,
laid on Christ the iniquity of us all. Who are they all there? All the sheep who have gone astray. We were lost in our sins and
the shepherd Christ had to bear our sins to find us. Now what
is it to be lost? It's not to be misplaced as if
Christ doesn't know who or where they are. That's the way we think
about it. We lose something, we misplace
it. I don't know where that handkerchief is now. Somebody's got my handkerchief. But I got to have one up here.
This is part of the equipment, you know. The Lord made me do
that so I could say that in this message, didn't he? As an illustration. Where is my handkerchief? I think
it's in there, but I don't know. But see, that's not what lost
means here to the shepherd. It doesn't mean that he's misplaced
it and doesn't know who it is or where it is. He knows exactly
who his sheep are, and he knows exactly where they are. What
is it to be lost? It's to be lost in sin. That's
what it means to be lost. Fallen in Adam. Ruined by the
fall, Scripture says. Dead in trespasses and sins.
That's how the Scripture describes us in Ephesians chapter 2. Dead. That's what it is to be lost.
It means to go our own way. We've gone astray. We've gone
our own way. We don't know the right way. There is a way that
seems right to us. Proverbs says twice. But it's
a way of death. Isn't that right? You don't know
which way to go until the Lord steps in and intervenes in your
life and arrests you and turns you the right way. And that's
why Christ said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life.
No man cometh to the Father but by me. We know ways of religion,
we know ways of reformation, we know ways of morality, but
we don't know the way of grace. That's why they're lost sheep,
you see. All the ways we know are wrong
ways. Like that aviator back in the World War I, they called
him Wrong Way Corrigan. That's us in religion, because
we don't know the way. Paul describes it in Ephesians
2, verse 12. Let me just read it to you. He's
talking about the Gentiles who didn't know the work of the law. Now, remember now, during the
time of the Old Covenant, that Old Covenant was not a way of
salvation by works. Many people have that confused.
There's a group called dispensationalists, it means dispensations or segments
of time. And they'll tell you, well, now
God back in the Old Covenant in this segment of time, he saved
by keeping the law. Oh, no. That law was a schoolmaster
to lead sinners to Christ. The law entered that sin might
have entered. The reason God gave them the law was to show
and expose their sinfulness, their lack of righteousness,
and to drive them to Christ. You see, that law had the types
and the pictures and the sacrifices too, which were types and pictures
of Christ. It was always salvation by grace.
So back then, the Gentiles didn't have that law. And here's what
Paul says of it in verse 12 of Ephesians 2. He says that at
that time you were without Christ. That's what it is to be lost.
It's to be without Christ. That really says it all. But
he goes on. He says, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.
That would be like you didn't have the message of grace. Strangers from the covenants
of promise. Having no hope and without God
in the world. That's lost. As I said, a lost
sheep in the Judean wilderness was doomed. The shepherd. It says he had that lost sheep,
one was lost, one went astray, and then he says the shepherd
left the ninety and nine in the wilderness. Now I believe the
reference, a lot of people argue about who this ninety and nine
are. And if you look on your bulletin
there, I printed a song called the ninety and nine on the back
of the bulletin. Maybe one of these days we can
get somebody to sing that for you. It's a beautiful song. Very scriptural song, but there's
a couple of things I don't like about it, but I went and printed
it anyway. Somebody said, well, maybe you shouldn't have printed
it. Well, I'm sorry. I did. But I love the song. I do. And
it's a scriptural song, but there's a couple of things I don't like.
I don't like the title. Because this story is not about
the 99. It's about the shepherd and the
lost sheep. But now it's spoken to the 99. But you know, a lot
of times back then, they just titled songs by the first line,
and that's the reason for that. But it starts out there, it says,
there were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of
the fold. Well, that's a little misleading,
but you have to take some of these with a grain of salt. But
here it says, here, look back at verse 4 of Luke 15, it says,
what man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them,
does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness? Not safely
in the fold. They're in the wilderness. Now,
some people believe that the 99 refers to saints who are in
heaven and that Christ left them when he became incarnate. That's
possible, but I don't believe that's what it is. Look down
at verse 7. He says, I say unto you that likewise joy shall be
in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety
and nine just persons which need no repentance. Now, what's he
talking about? Well, there are no persons on
this earth fallen in heaven who are just persons in themselves. And there are not any who do
not need repentance. And even as a justified sinner
in Christ, you still need repentance, don't you? I still need repentance
today. Don't you? That's a continuum. What I believe
he's referring to here, the 99, are those Pharisees and scribes
who consider themselves just and who consider that they need
no repentance. It's kind of like the self-righteous
religionist who would look at a publican or a sinner and say,
now that fellow needs to repent. Well, let me tell you something,
mister. So do I. So do you. Christ taught that in his parables. He taught it in his teachings. They are those who think themselves
to be just and in need of no repentance. And let me tell you
something now. Somebody says, well, this 99
Christ owns them. Well, He owns everybody, friend.
Ezekiel 18 verse 4 says this, Behold, all souls are mine as
the soul of the Father, so also the soul of the Son is mine.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Whether you're saved or lost,
He belongs to you. Whether you're saved or reprobate, you belong
to Him rather. He owns this world. Not by redemption
now, but by creation. He owns His people by redemption.
He owns it all. But what is it to be lost? Well,
there it is. Now, what is it to be found? Now, the shepherd
goes out and he finds his lost sheep. Now, finding the sheep
here, and I want you to Think about this very carefully, and
mark this. Finding the sheep here is more
than finding where they are. Locating them. He's just trying
to locate them. That's not what he's doing when
the shepherd comes to find his lost sheep. They're lost, but
not to him, as if he didn't know who and where they are. Now let
me show you that. Look at John chapter 10. You
see now, and this is one of those classic things now you've got
to understand. You don't derive your doctrine
from the parables. These parables are illustrating
one particular point here. And it's not giving us a systematic
theology in a parable. You've got to interpret the parables
in light of the clear scriptural teachings. Well, look at John
chapter 10. Now here in John chapter 10,
the Lord describes His work as a shepherd in finding His sheep. Look at verse 13 of John chapter
10. He talks about the hierling here
that flees. That's not a true shepherd. That
would be like those false shepherds that Ron read about in Ezekiel
34. And he flees because he's a hierling and careth not for
the sheep. But look here, He says in verse 14, He says, I
am the good shepherd And look at the next line, and know my
sheep. Literally, that would be know
mine. Because the word sheep there is in italics. That's what
he's talking about. I know mine. And am known of mine. And then
he says, as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father,
and I lay down my life for the sheep. I'm going to die for the
sheep, he says. And look here in verse 16. Now
if he didn't know who they were and where they're located, how
could he say this? He says, another sheep I have
which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. He's got no
choice. You know why? Because of the
Father's glory. And they shall hear my voice.
They're going to be given ears to hear and eyes to see. And
there shall be one foal and one shepherd. Did you see that? One time, over in John chapter
4, he told his disciples, he said, he must need go through
Samaria. Now that was not the best way
to go. But he had to go that way. You
know why? Because there was a woman down there, an adulterous woman,
a sinner, who was one of his sheep. He knew exactly where
she was. I'm sure those disciples were sitting there thinking,
why are we going through Samaria of all places? He said, we must
go through Samaria. Because he knew where she was.
And he knew the time that he was to meet her. And to bring
her to a saving knowledge of Christ. Over in the book of Acts
chapter 18, when Paul went into Corinth, you know what he said
to Paul? When Paul was being attacked, and his life was being
threatened, he said, it's okay Paul, I have much people in this
city. You know, he forbid Paul to go
certain places. Paul wanted to go this way and
that way. He said, no, don't go there.
Go here. I have much people in this city. He knew where they
were. The Bible says in Matthew 121
that Mary would bring forth a son and his name shall shall call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2, verse
19, "...nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having
this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His." He knows them. And He knows where they are.
He knows them by name. You see, finding the sheep, now
go back to Luke 15. Finding the sheep here is not
just locating them, or finding out who they are. That has nothing
to do with it. Finding the sheep, the word find
here, It means to get them. I'm going to get my sheep. I'm
going to get them. It means to obtain them. You
know why? Because they're His sheep. Now,
how does He get them? How does He obtain them? He said,
for the Son of Man has come to seek and to what? Save that which
was lost. And we saw it in John 10 there.
He said, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. That's how he gets them. He redeems
them. He goes to the cross and he obtains
them by paying the redemption price of his blood. The Bible
says, but now in Christ Jesus, you who were sometimes far off,
lost, are now made nigh. How? By the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2 verse 13. And they don't start the process
over in Romans chapter 5. The Bible tells us, look here,
we'll just read this. Romans chapter 5. I'll hurry. Verse 6. Romans 5 and verse 6. For when
we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for
who? The ungodly. That's the lost sheep. For scarcely
for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good
man Some would even dare to die, but God commended His love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
He says, much more than being now justified by His blood, made
righteous by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be
saved by His life. How does he get his sheep? How
does he find his sheep? He went to the cross and shed
his blood and established righteousness whereby God could be just to
justify him. He obtained them. He got us. He didn't lose one of them. He said, this is the will of
my Father which is sent me, of all which he hath given me, I
should lose nothing but raise it up again at the last day. It says back here in Luke 15,
verse 5, it says, "...he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing."
That's what he does. He gets his sheep and lays them
on his shoulders. That means all the responsibility of that sheep
being found and salvation is on the shoulders of the shepherd.
And you know what? That never stops. He's carrying
me today. He didn't let me down at one
point. I know that little story about
the seashore, you know, where you got the little feet and then
all of a sudden you got... No, He never lets us down. He's right
there on His shoulders all the time. He'll carry us right in
the glory, right on His shoulders. And we find Him. We do. The sheep found Him, but only
because He finds us. We're commanded, however, to
seek Him and the salvation He freely provides. And He says
here in verse 6, He said, He cometh home, he calleth together
his friends and neighbors, saying unto me, Rejoice with me, for
I found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance." What
kind of joy? That's the joy of the glory of God in the salvation
of the sheep. That's the joy of the Son of
God who for the joy that was set before Him endured the contradiction
of sinners on the cross. That is the joy of salvation.
That is the joy that only God can give by His grace when His
sheep are found. May the Lord bless this message
to our hearts.